SHOOTINGS: Deputies search computer, phone records

Feb. 20, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Orange County Sheriff's Department personnel investigate the scene of a shooting on Red Leaf Lane in Ladera Ranch on Tuesday. One woman was shot and killed there. Authorities believe Ladera Ranch was the start of a shooting spree that ended in Orange, leaving four dead and two wounded. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Photo released by police of Courtney Aoki, the woman shot in Ladera Ranch on Tuesday. DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES

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Authorities identified Courtney Aoki, 20, of Buena Park, as Ali Syed's first victim. Aoki was shot multiple times in a bedroom of a Ladera Ranch home early Tuesday morning, Feb. 19, 2013. facebook.com

Wednesday morning, the scene of a fatal shooting and carjacking was back to normal. Investigators took some of the grass and soil where police found the body of Melvin Lee Edwards, 69. Police said Ali Syed, 20, killed Edwards, a businessman on his way to work, after ordering him out of his car and walking him to the curb. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Members of the media gather around a speaker as the Orange County sheriff's 911 call is played during a Wednesday afternoon news conference at the Tustin Police Department. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A black GMC Denali believed to be involved in an early-morning shooting rampage that left four people dead, including the shooter, is loaded onto a flatbed tow truck at the intersection of El Camino Real and Red Hill in Tustin on Tuesday. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Photo of plumber Jeremy Lewis, one of the victims in Tuesday's shooting rampage. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department answers questions from the media during a news conference Wednesday to release the 911 calls from Tuesday's shooting rampage. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Authorities identified Courtney Aoki, 20, of Buena Park, as Ali Syed's first victim. Aoki was shot multiple times in a bedroom of a Ladera Ranch home early Tuesday morning, Feb. 19, 2013. facebook.com

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Authorities identified Courtney Aoki, 20, of Buena Park, as Ali Syed's first victim. Aoki was shot multiple times in a bedroom of a Ladera Ranch home early Tuesday morning, Feb. 19, 2013. facebook.com

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Neighborhood kids look at the house (with gray car) on Red Leaf Lane in Ladera Ranch where a woman was shot and killed Tuesday. Authorities believe Ladera Ranch was the start of a shooting spree that ended in Orange, leaving four dead and two wounded. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Tustin police officers and a detective scan the parking lot at the Micro Center computer and electronics store, at Del Amo and Edinger avenues, after two people were shot, one fatally, at right, early Tuesday morning. Four people are dead and another two wounded in multiple shootings that were reported near the 55 and I-5 freeways, authorities said. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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An Orange police office stands by a road closed sign at Wanda Road and Coolidge Avenue in Orange early Tuesday morning as police investigate a shooting. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Authorities remove the body of a shooting victim on Red Leaf Lane in Ladera Ranch on Tuesday. One woman was shot and killed at the location. Authorities believe Ladera Ranch was the start of a shooting spree that ended in Orange, leaving four dead and two wounded. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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California Higway Patrol officers gather at the scene of a fatal shooting at the end of the McFadden Avenue off ramp of the southbound 55 freeway on Tuesday. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Orange County coroner's office wheels a body, believed to be that of the gunman in earlier shootings, to a waiting van at the intersection of Wanda Road and Katella Avenue in Orange on Tuesday morning. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Police investigators examine a shotgun found lying in the street at the intersection of Wanda Road and Katella Avenue in Orange early Tuesday morning near where a body lay moments before. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Police investigators place a shotgun into a box at the intersection of Wanda Road and Katella Avenue in Orange early Tuesday morning. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A truck is towed away from the intersection of Wanda Road and Katella Avenue in Orange early Tuesday morning following an early morning shooting. MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Melvin Edwards, 69, of Laguna Hills, was en route to his Santa Ana business when he was confronted by the carjacker and killed. COURTESY: DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES

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Jeremy Lewis, of Fullerton, was shot and killed on his way to work at a construction site near Edinger and Newport avenues. Another person was also wounded at the scene. FACEBOOK

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Workers were back to work on a construction site at Edinger and Newport Avenues, the day after two workers from the site were shot at, one injured and one killed, and a work truck taken. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Tuesday, shooting suspect Ali Syed, 22, exited at the 55 freeway at Edinger Avenue after carjacking two vehicles. He stopped at a construction site and shot Jeremy Lewis, 26, in his truck. A co-worker ran over, and Syed leveled the gun and ordered the man to run, then shot him in the arm. Syed took that man's truck and got back on the freeway, this time heading north. Wednesday morning, Tustin police investigators revisited the scene and talked with construction workers who were near yesterday's events. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Tuesday, shooting suspect Ali Syed, 22, exited at the 55 freeway at Edinger Avenue after carjacking two vehicles. He stopped at a construction site and shot Jeremy Lewis, 26, in his truck. A co-worker ran over, and Syed leveled the gun and ordered the man to run, then shot him in the arm. Syed took that man's truck and got back on the freeway, this time heading north. Wednesday morning, Tustin police investigators revisited the scene and talked with construction workers who were near yesterday's events. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Orange County Sheriff's Department personnel investigate the scene of a shooting on Red Leaf Lane in Ladera Ranch on Tuesday. One woman was shot and killed there. Authorities believe Ladera Ranch was the start of a shooting spree that ended in Orange, leaving four dead and two wounded.PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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BULLETIN: Investigators are hoping computer and phone records will answer questions about how Courtney Aoki ended up in the bedroom of Ali Syed, a 20-year-old unemployed man who went on a shooting rampage Tuesday morning, killing Aoki and two others.

Orange County Sheriff's Department officials identified Aoki on Wednesday afternoon, the first victim of a shooting spree that ended when Syed turned a shotgun on himself in Orange.

But why Aoki was with Syed, described as a loner who lived with his parents, remains unclear.

Sheriff's officials said Aoki and Syed did not meet in school, and Syed's parents told investigators they had never seen Aoki before her body was found Tuesday morning.

Computers and phones belonging to the two are now being searched by the sheriff's computer forensic lab to find out how the two 20-year-olds met.

Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, said the motive behind Syed's shooting Aoki and two others in Tustin remains a mystery.

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Investigators identified a Buena Park woman shot multiple times in a Ladera Ranch home by a man who would go on to kill two other people before taking his own life, but her relationship with the gunman remains a mystery.

A day after Ali Syed, 20, carried out a killing, carjacking and shooting spree that sprawled across 25 miles and resulted in four deaths in less than an hour, a motive for the rampage also remained elusive.

Sheriff's officials say they have unveiled no evidence that would explain what they described as Syed's "very bizarre, violent behavior."

Syed's first victim, who authorities identified Wednesday as Courtney Aoki, 20, was shot multiple times in a bedroom of a Ladera Ranch home early Tuesday morning. Authorities were not sure what she was doing with Syed; his parents, who were home at the time, told investigators they had never seen her before, and authorities do not believe that Aoki and Syed had been dating.

Aoki, an aspiring actress, had no identification with her, forcing investigators to identify her through multiple fingerprint searches. Officials say she didn't have a criminal background and that they have not determined what her occupation was.

There was reportedly no evidence of a sexual assault, and no signs of a struggle in the home beyond the gunshot wounds.

Neighbors reported hearing sounds – shouts, a pop, a scream – coming from the Syed home in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The Orange County Sheriff's Department believes the woman was shot multiple times about 4:45 a.m. and says Syed then fled in his family's SUV.

In a frantic 911 call released Wednesday, Syed's mother sounded out of breath as she reported hearing a gunshot in her home while an alarm is heard in the background. Moments later, Syed's calm-sounding father gets on the line and tells dispatchers that he believes "they got in a fight or something" before explaining that he had been awoken by a gunshot and realized that Syed had fled.

During the ensuing rampage through portions of Santa Ana, Tustin and Orange, Syed is believed to have carjacked multiple vehicles, "executed" one of the drivers who was complying with his orders, shot and killed a construction worker and injured another, then taken his own life as authorities were catching up to him.

Calls to 911 released Wednesday from people calling in the various shootings reflected chaotic scenes, as dispatchers tried to get a clear picture of what was going on.

Many of the callers, who were shot at or witnessed a shooting, struggled to breathe. They cried and gasped for air as they tried to tell dispatchers what was going on. Many people struggled to find the right words. One man demanded the police get there over and over again, then attempted to follow the suspect for fear he was getting away.

"I was entering the freeway, and I saw him through my mirror ... that he shot the guy," said one woman while sobbing. "Oh, my God."

The shotgun believed to have been used in the slayings belonged to Syed, having been purchased for him by his father, investigators said.

Sheriff's officials during a news conference Wednesday described Syed as "a loner, a gamer" who was unemployed but had been taking college-prep clases at Saddleback College and was enrolled this semester in a computer-maintenance class.

"He took one class at college. He did not work. ... Most of his free time he was playing video games," Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

There was no indication of violence in Syed's background, no signs of illegal narcotics in his room and no history of mental illness or disabilities that investigators have been able to determine, Amormino said.

The Syed family released a statement Wednesday night through their attorney, Vincent LaBarbera, indicating that they had been "devastated by yesterday's tragic events."

"No words can express their heartbreak and sorrow. Their hearts and prayers go out to the families of all the victims. They will continue to assist the authorities in their continuing investigation, as they themselves try to make sense of this tragedy," the statement read.

Meanwhile, as police tried to piece together the motivation behind Syed's rampage, friends and family remembered the people who had lost their lives.

Jeremy Lewis, 26, a construction worker killed while sitting in his vehicle, was described as a "good kid" with a calm demeanor, while Melvin Edwards, 69, a Laguna Hills man killed on his way to work, was described as a dedicated, easygoing business owner devoted to his family.

A vigil for the victims Wednesday night at Calvary Chapel in Tustin drew about 90 people.

"We cannot penetrate the depth of evil or despair that is in the hearts and minds of some," the Rev. Barry Stagner said. "But rather than propose the question 'Why?' and seek to answer it, let me remind you of an essential word in times like these: help. God is our helper."

While the shock of the shooting spree remained, church leaders urged congregants to remember the families of both the victims and the gunman. For some, the violence hit particularly close to home.

"The on-ramp where it occurred is the one I use," the church's head usher Dexter Winzey said. He said he was grateful that he and his wife had been spared but added that his faith gave him courage.

"I know where I'm going after I die. It's not subject to the whims of crazy people."

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